Ontario hospitals are hurting for cash, but how much is enough? Artwork

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Closer Look - Insightful, credible, unfiltered conversations that matter

Ontario hospitals are hurting for cash, but how much is enough?

January 29, 2026 • Village Media Inc.

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No matter how you crunch the numbers, the answer comes out the same: Ontario hospitals are desperate for more money.

Last week, the Ontario Hospital Association told the Ford government that the sector is facing a structural deficit of $1-billion — a situation that requires not only more money this year, but a predictable, multi-year funding plan.

A separate report says the problem is actually much worse. Released this week by the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, the report says the provincial government would need to increase core funding by $3.2 billion in order to match per capita hospital spending in other provinces.

A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones called the union's interpretation “misguided.”

“Ontario is proud to have one of the largest publicly funded health-care systems in the world, with the largest health-care workforce in Canada, and we continue to make record investments in our health-care system, including investing $91.5 billion this year alone, a $30 billion increase since 2018,” the spokesperson said.

Michael Hurley, president of Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, is our guest on tonight’s episode of Village Media’s Closer Look podcast.

Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.

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